My Very Good Boy
by Ster J
Summary: Young Spock stays with T'Pau during an emergency. She helps his through a first day of school crisis.


T itle: My Very Good Boy

Author: Ster Julie

Codes: Spock, T'Pau, Sarek/Amanda

Rating: G

Part 1 of 1

Summary: Young Spock stays with T'Pau during an emergency. She helps his through a first day of school crisis.

Author's Notes: This story is based on and dedicated to two of my former students. One girl was erroneously put into the "slow" group in first grade. She only completed 3 of the required 5 reading texts before being promoted to second grade. I noticed that she was bright and more advanced than the rest of her group. After consulting with her parents, I put her on an independent course of studies, and within three months, she completed the last two first grade readers, plus the first second grade text, putting her at the same level as her peers.

I also had a boy that had attended a Montessori school since he was a baby. When he was 6 years old, he transferred to our school and tested out at the sixth grade level in math and the eighth grade level in reading! Instead of putting him in first grade with the other six year olds, he was put in my second grade class. It was a challenge to keep him, well, challenged, as well as remember that her was only six years old.

This story is also dedicated to teachers who have the sacred duty of shaping the minds of children.

All Vulcan words are from the Vulcan Language Dictionary.

--ooOoo--

Little Spock was dismayed. He suddenly found himself torn away from his home and deposited on the steps of his grandmother's estate, his pet Ee-Chaya on one side of him and a bagful of hastily packed possessions on the other.

The last thing he remembered from before his afternoon nap was the sound of his mother beginning preparations for endmeal in the kitchen and the sound of his father returning home from wherever it was that Sarek went whenever T'Pau called him.

Spock had awakened to the sound of Ee-Chaya's whuffling complaints as his traveling muzzle and leash were attached to his collar.

"Quickly," his father had ordered as he struggled with the sehlat, "go and relieve yourself, then wash up and put on your traveling clothes."

"Where are we going?" Spock dared to ask, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"No questions!" Sarek barked. "Move!"

Sarek's assistant brought the sehlat and the boy to T'Pau's doorstep, announced their presence, then ran off to catch up with the Ambassador and his party.

Spock didn't know what to think. He was taken from his house, deposited at the home of his slight yet formidable grandmother and clan leader. He sank to the ground and embraced his pet's thick, shaggy neck.

"Ee-Chaya?" he whimpered. "Am I being punished? Why did they give me away to GranGran T? I've been a very good boy. Did I do something bad?"

"Since when is a visit to thy grandmother a punishment, Spock-kam?"

Spock stiffened at the sound of the matriarch's voice. He rubbed his face against the animal's coat (in case any of the tears he was fighting had escaped), then stood respectfully, his head bowed and his trembling hands behind his back.

_"Mene sekket ur sevah, Ko'mekh'al," _he said politely.

_"Mene sekket ur sevah, Spokh,"_ T'Pau replied. "Do thee know why thee are here, child?"

Spock shook his head and barely breathed, "No."

"There was an emergency near the Beta Quadrant," she answered bluntly. "Thy father was sent to bring the two sides to a peaceful solution."

"But I, but I, but I," Spock stammered.

"But what?" T'Pau responded.

"But I always go with my mommy and daddy when they go on long trips," Spock explained. "Why didn't they take me with them?"

"What is the meaning of these words 'mom-ee' and 'dad-ee'?" she asked.

"'Mommy ' is the di-, dim-, diminutive of 'mother' or _ko'mekh_, and 'daddy' means 'father' or _sa'mekh,_'" Spock replied.

"Thee will use the words 'mom-ee' and 'dad-ee' when thee are with thy parents," T'Pau pronounced.

Spock bowed his head further. "Yes, ma'am," he replied meekly.

"What is this word 'maam'?" T'Pau continued.

"It is a title of respect to a female elder," Spock explained.

"Maam," T'Pau repeated.

"It is actually a contraction of the French word _'madame,'_" he continued

"And what is French?" the matriarch asked.

"French is another Earth language," the boy answered.

T'Pau cocked her head quizzically at her small grandson. "How many different languages do thee speak, child?" she inquired.

Spock counted off on his fingers. "First I learned to speak Modern Vulcan, then Earth Standard, and then I learned ritual Vulcan," the boy offered. "I can also read in all of these languages. I also know a little bit of other languages, like French, and …"

T'Pau interrupted the boy's recitation.

"And how many seasons have thee?" she asked.

"I'm five," Spock replied.

T'Pau's only reaction was a raised brow. So much intelligence in one so young!

Spock was not deterred from his original question. "Why didn't my _ko'mekh_ and _sa'mekh_ take me with them?"

T'Pau picked up the sehlat's leash and Spock's bag. "Thee begin school this week. Thy _sa'mekh_ and _ko'mekh _believed it to be too dangerous a mission for thee. We all agreed that it would be more logical for thee to stay here with me and attend school as planned."

Spock continued meekly behind his grandmother and pet. _Mommy was going to walk me to school the first day,_ he thought morosely, _and Daddy, too._

T'Pau halted in front of a door. "Thee will use this room," she pronounced, holding out Spock's bag to him. "Thee will be called for endmeal."

The matriarch observed Spock's small dark head bowing lower with something more than acceptance. "Now what troubles thee, child?"

"Mommy…My _ko'mekh_ was preparing a special meal for me," he whispered.

"She prepared it," T'Pau replied, "and she sent it along for us to share."

Spock's head snapped up at that, his small mouth forming a surprised o.

"Thy assistance is required for setting out the food," T'Pau continued. "Some of it is unfamiliar."

"I will come now," Spock announced.

"No," T'Pau pronounced regally. "Thee will unpack then change into appropriate attire for endmeal."

And with that, she left the room.

Spock scurried about, hastily shoving clothes into the bureau and closet. He removed his traveling clothes and changed into a tunic and cropped pants. He hastily finger combed his hair and was nearly out the door when he remembered the lumbering _sehlat_.

"Poor Ee-Chaya," the boy crooned as he removed his pet's leash and muzzle. The _sehlat_ gave a mighty shake from nose to tail then obediently followed his small master from the room.

Spock found his way to the kitchen. Sure enough, all of the food Amanda had been preparing for endmeal was displayed on the counter. Spock moved the cold items to the chiller, with one small carton put at the lowest, coolest depths. He placed the hot food into the warmer and set the levels as he had seen his mother do many times.

T'Pau found her grandson at the food preparation counter, sitting on one of the high stools, and swinging his legs back and forth. Ee-Chaya sat on the floor beside him, sniffing the enticing smells coming from the warmer. She inspected the chiller and the warmer, pleased that the young boy was so self-sufficient.

The matriarch sat quietly beside the little boy.

"Are words like mommy and daddy bad?" Spock asked after a while.

"Words are neither good nor bad, Spock-kam," T'Pau replied.

"So why don't you want me to use them?" he inquired.

"Mom-ee and dad-ee hold special meaning for thee and thy parents," T'Pau answered. "It would show respect to keep those appellations for private times with thy parents."

Spock was quiet as he thought again.

"When will my parents be back?" he asked.

"They shall return when the crisis has passed and their personal business is completed," she responded.

"Will that take a long time?" Spock queried, damping down a bit of fear and loneliness.

"It will take as look as it takes, Spock-kam," T'Pau answered softly.

At the same time, a delicate chime sounded from the warmer. The food had reached the temperatures that Spock had set earlier.

The boy looked up at his elder. "I'm not allowed to take the hot dishes out of the warmer," he said.

As T'Pau pulled on some hot mitts, Spock looked about quizzically. None of the elder's staff were visible anywhere.

_"Ko'mekh'al," _he asked, "where are all your helpers?"

"They are gone for the evening," she answered as she looked into the warmer. "So many dishes," T'Pau remarked.

"The top three are for now," Spock explained. "The one on the bottom is for after dinner."

The first bowl held a mélange of vegetables, the second a reddish sauce with nuggets of vegetable protein, and the last a pile of long white strands.

"My _ko'mekh _made spaghetti, _Ko'mekh'al," _Spock explained.

"Northern Vulcans make a similar dish, Spock'kam," T'Pau said. "Were thee aware of this?"

Spock's eyes grew large at this announcement. "No, _Ko'mekh'al,"_ he breathed.

"Some cuisines transcend the distances of space, child," she teased as she piled some of the noodles into their plates. She peered at the second bowl. "And what is this?"

"That's spaghetti sauce," Spock declared. "You put it on top of the sketti, uh, spaghetti." Spock hoped his grandmother hadn't noticed his laspe into baby talk. He had only recently begun saying "spaghetti" instead of "sketti" or the embarrassing "pis-getti."

T'Pau topped the noodles with the sauce as directed, and then set a serving of vegetables on the side of the plate.

"Shall we have endmeal here?" she asked her grandson.

Spock thought a moment. "The food is here and the plates are here and we are here," he observed. "It is logical that we eat here, is it not?" he asked hopefully.

T'Pau nodded solemnly. Picking up her eating sticks, she deftly spun some noodles around them and popped them into her mouth. The sauce was tangy and piquant with herbs but not overwhelming.

Spock watched his grandmother taste his mother's cooking.

"Acceptable," T'Pau pronounced.

The boy relaxed and helped himself to his own food.

"Mommy…uh…my _ko'mehk_ says these noodles were eaten this way long, long ago on Earth," Spock declared, "with sticks much like these."

T'Pau waited for the rest of the tale, knowing it would soon come bubbling forth from her precocious grandson.

"An Earth explorer named Marco Polo from Italy went all the way to China--that's nearly halfway around the planet!--and one of the things he brought back were noodles. Then another explorer, Christopher Columbus, went the other way to the Americas and he brought back tomatoes. The people of Italy--that's the country Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus came from--put the tomatoes on the noodles and called it spaghetti."

T'Pau calmly took in the dissertation from young Spock. He had obviously studied Earth history. Now it was time for a bit of Vulcan history.

"Does thee know why Vulcans eat their meals in silence, Child?" she asked.

Spock sat back as if he had been struck. He had forgotten to eat quietly, and in his grandmother's presence! He lowered his head and tucked into his own meal.

"I asked thee a question, Spock," T'Pau reminded.

Spock's dark head snapped up, spaghetti hanging from his mouth and leaving a red trail on his chin. He slurped the offending food into his mouth and ran his napkin across his chin. Chewing quickly, Spock swallowed and mumbled, "It had to do with something about all the fighting."

"In the times before Surak," she instructed, "when every tribe acted independently of each other, food and water were scarce. If one tribe found food, they sat quietly and ate it together in silence so no one would hear them and steal the food away."

Spock chewed on this information a bit. "But, _Ko'mekh'al," _he observed, "it is not like that any more. All the tribes work together so that there is food and water enough for everyone. Why do we still keep silence at meals?"

"A silent mind and heart is more open to hear the voice of the ancestors," the matriarch continued. "We remember what they endured in order to bring peace to our people. Each true child of Vulcan must be diligent in being people of peace, or else the barbaric ways of our earliest ancestors will overtake us once again." T'Pau fixed her wise gaze on the young boy. "How does thee try to be a true child of Vulcan, Spock-kam?"

T'Pau half expected the boy to squirm and demur and not answer the question. Instead, Spock sat up straight and answered clearly.

"After I get ready for bed, but before I can have my story," Spock began," I sit in the meditation position and hold my hands in front of me. My _sa'mekh_ told me to see my whole day in the space between my hands and look for how I have been a boy of peace, and also see where I have to improve. Then I talk over what I thought about with my _sa'mekh_, and he tells me what I can do to be better. When my _sa'mekh _is not home, then I talk to my_ ko'mekh."_

"And what if neither thy _sa'mekh _nor thy _ko'mekh_ are available to thee?" T'Pau asked.

Spock cast a furtive glance at Ee'Chaya, a glance that was not lost on T'Pau. The boy gave the matriarch a sheepish look.

"He _is_ a very good listener," Spock explained.

Spock awoke before first light. After an agreeable endmeal of spaghetti followed by peach pie a la mode, the young boy had a long discussion with his grandmother about the first day of his formal schooling. T'Pau had reminded Spock that he would most likely be at an advantage over the other boys since he could already read and write fluently in so many languages. The matriarch also admonished her grandson not to act superior to the other children. It would be best to listen politely, to learn his lessons, to work quietly, and to do his assignments to the best of his ability.

When T'Pau finished, she allowed Spock to call his parents. Only Amanda was available however. Spock was amazed that Amanda told him basically the same things as his _ko'mekh'al_. He assured his mother that he would do as he was told.

Spock rose from his bed and stepped gingerly over Ee-Chaya. He looked at the lightening sky and sighed softly. His parents had said that they would walk him to school on the first day. However, young Spock knew that whenever his father was called away so suddenly, there was trouble brewing somewhere. And when Sarek returned, Spock knew that peace must have prevailed over the trouble. Controlling his disappointment was a small sacrifice to make for the sake of peace.

When T'Pau's assistant arrived at Spock's room to help him prepare for the day, she found the boy dressed, groomed and striving to fasten his sandals.

"Master Spock," the assistant called, "I am T'Suna."

_"Mene sekket ur sevah,"_ Spock greeted politely.

"You grandmother is in conference with your father," T'Suna reported. "After firstmeal, I shall escort you to school."

Spock bowed his head in acknowledgement. He found it even more difficult to master his disappointment that neither his parents nor his grandmother would witness this great step in his life.

T'Pau looked up from her work to see a sullen, disheartened boy standing in the doorway. The matriarch moved around her desk and stood in front of her grandson.

Spock held up a sheet of paper with line drawings on it.

"What is this?" T'Pau asked.

"Homework," Spock muttered. He raised distraught eyes to his grandmother. "She wants me to do baby work, _Ko'mekh'al!" _he anguished.

"Baby work?" T'Pau repeated.

Spock touched his chin to stop its quivering. "The teacher spoke to me like I was one of the slow boys."

T'Pau raised a brow at the term "slow boys."

"She told me four times," Spock continued. "'Circle the picture of the object that begins with the same phoneme as your name,'" Spock mimicked in a sing-song voice. "All the other boys got pads with their homework, and all I got was _this."_ Spock flung the paper on the floor. T'Pau drew near and retrieved the offending item.

"Perhaps is assignment is not about phonemes, Spock-kam," T'Pau observed.

Spock looked at her quizzically. "But," he began.

"Perhaps," T'Pau continued, "perhaps it is a lesson in obedience. She handed the paper back to her grandson. Spock lowered his head then took the paper back.

T'Pau moved to a side counter and took out some art supplies. She motioned to Spock to bring over a stool.

"Sit here," she ordered, "and do the work to the best of thy ability. Show the teacher what thee can do."

Spock scrambled into the seat and perused the colors and inks there. Soon he was hard at work coloring and embellishing the line drawings. He finished coloring all the images of things that began with the phoneme _/sp/._ He then used the inks to shadow the rest of the images. Next he dutifully circled all of the colored images. He took a soft brush and finished the assignment by calligraphing the name of each item in Gollic runes.

T'Pau drew near after an hour. Spock's homework was a masterpiece. T'Pau placed a folder next to the homework. "When thy work has dried, place it in here," she instructed.

"Yes, _Ko-mehkal,"_ Spock answered obediently.

The next afternoon was a repeat of the previous day. Spock once again stood at the threshold of his grandmother's office with an identical piece of paper in his small hand.

"I have to repeat the homework, _Ko-mehkal!" _he anguished. "The teacher didn't believe that I did the work all by myself."

"Did thee offer to demonstrate thy skills to the teacher?" T'Pau suggested.

Spock nodded. "Yes, _Ko-mehkal,"_ he began, "I tried, but her supplies are not as good as yours, so I couldn't do as good a job. So she didn't think I did my own work." Spock bowed his head in shame. "Then I got in trouble."

"Trouble?"

"The teacher said that I had spoken disrespectfully to her when I said your art supplies were far superior to hers. She made me go to the corner and clean up those 'inferior art supplies.' Then she made me take the same work home to do over, correctly, and without any outside help."

Spock turned bleak eye to his grandmother. "I _did_ do the work myself, _Ko-mehkal."_

"I can attest to that fact," T'Pau answered. She returned to her art supplies and packed an assortment of them in a small bag. "We shall demonstrate to this teacher thy abilities." Spock picked up the bag and the paper (His folder had been confiscated) and followed his grandmother back to his school.

The pair arrived at the school just as the teacher was closing up for the day.

T'Luless noticed two small yet imposing shadows cross her door. She gulped as she saw her young student at T'Pau's side. Only then did she notice the family resemblance.

"My lady," T'Luless began weakly. "I am honored by thy presence. I come to serve."

"Where are the results of my grandson's diagnostic exam?" T'Pau blurted.

T'Luless blinked. "They were invalidated, my lady," she stammered.

"Why?"

"No 5 year old has ever achieved such a high score on the entrance exam," T'Luless exclaimed. "It was obvious. . . It was thought that Spock had some outside advantage or influence."

T'Pau stared haughtily at the woman for a moment before addressing her grandson.

"Spock-kam," the matriarch commanded, "go with the teacher and retake the exam. Then take the supplies we brought and repeat the assignment you were given." T'Pau turned back to the teacher. "T'Luless and I shall have a discussion in the next room," she said ominously.

Spock's eyes grew big. He did not envy his teacher's "discussion" with _Ko-mehkal_ T'Pau!

When T'Luless returned to her classroom, she found Spock repacking the art supplies. His homework was drying on the counter. T'Luless found his test completed to the eighth year level. He had missed a few questions in the higher mathemtics and comprehension of classic literature, but every other subject was in order.

T.Pau picked up Spock's homework. "Spock-kam," she called.

"Here, _Ko-mehkal,"_ he responded obediently.

"What is this style of art called?" T'Pau asked as she studied the muted shades and the bold strokes.

"When we lived at the embassy in San Francisco," Spock answered, "Mother arranged for art classes for me with _Sensei_ Hiroshi. He taught me _**Sumi-e,**_ Japanese brush-painting."

"Explain."

Spock sat in a meditative pose. "First I had to meditate on the object I was to paint," he began. "Next I had to paint its essence from memory."

T'Luless was astonished as she listened to this amazing child. T'Pau had explained to her that Spock was precocious perhaps because his hybrid nature had caused him to develop faster than the other boys. He also had had many more advantages in his short life by having a teacher and linguist for a mother and renowned scientist and computer expert for a father. In addition, Spock had had many and varied experiences while accompanying his parents on various diplomatic junkets. It was no surprise that he was a child of great wisdom and talent.

T'Luless agreed with T'Pau. Spock should be allowed to follow an independent course of studies, completing his assignments at his own speed. However, Spock should still participate in the group arts and sports so that he might develop socially.

T'Luless was certain that T'Pau was going to have her replaced as a teacher, and even cancel her upcoming wedding to T'Pau's clan son. T'Luless did not expect such grace and wisdom from this formidable woman, and generosity besides. T'Pau had even pledged to provide her with more worthy art supplies for the entire class.

"I am honored, my lady," T'Luless responded.

"Just remember," T'Pau pronounced, "thee are entrusted with a sacred duty -- the education and development of the future of Vulcan. Call forth the children's gifts and form them in the way of _c'thia."_

Spock busied himself with the art supplies, with his homework, trying to ignore the adults' discussion. He was surprised to hear his grandmother being so, well, _nice._ He was also surprised to hear his teacher deferring to the matriarch so humbly.

Spock shook his head. His parents had taught him that it was not polite to eavesdrop, so he pulled out a storybook and started reading.

T'Luless watched the boy with fascination. Never had she seen such a young child read and with obvious comprehension, which he demonstrated as he discussed the illogic of marking one's trail with an edible substance.

T'Luless wondered just how much she could actually teach this child.

Spock went home with four pads of work. He worked from the time they arrived home until endmeal, then again until T'Pau ordered him to bed.

Spock rose early the next morning and completed the mathematics lessons on the first padd and began the introductory lesson on the science padd.

T'Pau called Spock to her office before firstmeal so that the boy could speak to his parents.

"And she gave me four pads," Spock related excitedly, "and I already finished the mathematics one. And I started the science one this morning."

"Slow down, honey!" Amanda interjected. "Your brain needs time to absorb the material." She settled into lecture mode. "Do this for me, Spock. Complete no more than five lessons on one padd, then switch to another subject, but only after you have taken a break."

"A rest period, my son," Sarek explained at Spock's puzzled look. "Also, do not neglect Ee-Chaya."

"Yes, father," Spock replied obediently.

"Or your music lessons."

"Yes, Mother."

"Or your grandmother."

"Yes, Father."

"Or yourself."

Spock looked at his mother quizzically.

"Listen to your body," Amanda continued. "Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, exercise and take a bath."

"Bath," Spock repeated glumly. Like little boys galaxy-wide, Spock thought "bath" was as best a waste of time and at worst a four-letter word. He sighed delicately.

"Yes, Mother."

Sarek and Amanda returned home after ten more days. They discovered that Spock had completed the first year curriculum in mathematics, science, history and literature, plus all of the second year mathematics lessons. They also found Ee-Chaya groomed and content, a half-finished piano composition and several new paintings done in watercolor.

Amanda peeked in on her sleeping boy. She smoothed his sleep-ruffled hair with a feather light touch and placed a gentle kiss on his chubby cheek.

"That's my boy," she whispered as Spock smiled in his sleep, "My very good boy."

END


End file.
